Amarena Davide Cogliati Amarena
2162 Larkin St. (Green St.)
San Francisco, CA 94109
Map
Cuisine: Italian
An under-the-radar Russian Hill venue for classic Italian dishes and dressed-up favorites.
Openings: Dinner nightly

Features


Amarena Restaurant Review:


This charming trattoria on Russian Hill has high ceilings, dark wood floors and dappled metallic walls. The menu offers mostly traditional dishes, but includes a number of dressed-up choices such as hand-cut spinach gnocchi in Gorgonzola sauce, layered with slices of shiitake mushrooms. Calamari ripieni --- baked squid filled with shrimp and crab meat in a white wine sauce --- is the standout starter. Tagliolini con osso buco resembles a veal shank mountain covered in a snow of fresh pasta and porcini cream sauce. Pappardelle verdi all' anatra, thick spinach ribbons with duck meat in a brandy sauce, is a rich, rustic and satisfying dish. Try the grigliata mista of red snapper, salmon and jumbo prawns atop lumpy mashed potatoes and steamed spinach. For dessert, there’s chocolate salume, a disk of chocolate decadence surrounded by apricot and strawberry gelée. The wine list features 20-plus Italian reds, a small selection of Italian whites and California varietals, along with a number of choices by the glass. Service is friendly, relaxed and suits the mood.